"This tagline will more than likely get a mention in TotD"

The Castlevania series is overall my favorite in gaming history. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania: Circle of the Moon both rank among my favorite games ever (with Symphony of the Night being my number one favorite game ever), and Super Castlevania IV was border-line brilliant. Of course I also enjoy the sometimes maligned Bloodlines, for the Genesis, and even had some fun with the horribly butchered port of Dracula X for the SNES. Castlevania II and III weren't my thing, really, so I replayed the original with a bit of apprehension. Sure, I liked it a lot back in the day, but what about now? Well, it's aged a bunch, but Castlevania is still one of the finest games ever made for the NES (not saying much, really, but it's something).

''I don't know, nor do I care''

I do not know the specifics of the story in Castlevania. All I know is that you control Simon Belmont, Vampire killer, and your quest is to defeat Count Dracula, who is presumably bringing evil and darkness and all that bad guy stuff to the land. You must trasverse the halls of his abode, Castlevania, in order to reach him, and (hopefully) defeat him. Hell, that may be all the specifics for all I know, so, uh, yeah, there's your story.

''Damn, I hate this section''

Well, I hate the graphics sections of reviews, so I'll attempt to keep this succinct, for my sake, and yours. Castlevania, BY MID-80'S STANDARDS, is a pretty good looking game. Sure, the backgrounds are sparse and unimaginative, the animation nothing short of average, and Simon Belmont looks like a caveman who has a stick up his butt (you'll see what I mean by the stick in the butt comment when you see his walking animation), but Castlevania still looks pretty good, BY MID-80'S NES STANDARDS.

''The music is good? Jesus, what are you smoking? Good music found in a game from the CASTLEVANIA series!? You, sir, are insane.''

The Castlevania series is universally recognized as having among the best soundtracks in video games. While the tracks found in the originator may not be the best collection in the series, they're still DAMN good, and actually surpasses the almighty Ninja Gaiden in sonic excellence.

Anyone that attempts to deny the glory that is the track accompanying the very first level is an effeminate sailor.

VARY EFEMINATE.

Marred ... MARRED.

Ouch. In case you've been living in a dank cave being tortured by a large, cruel man for the past several years, you know what a 2-D platformer is. You also know, unless you really have been living in said cave, that dead-on controls are a very important aspect of a 2-D platformer. Unfortunately, Castlevania has spotty jumping (air control is almost non-existant (I GUESS THAT'S REALISTIC, THOUGH (though the realism is lessened by the fact you have a set jumping height)), and suspect hit detection (sometimes you won't even hit something though you clearly nailed it with your whip).

O well i am smart and witty.

I guess I'll write something about how the game plays, though I DOUBT ANYONE CARES.

You jump around and whip things. By pressing up and pressing attack, you can use a special weapon (as long as you have collected one), be it an axe, dagger, boomerang (CROSS) AND OTHER SUCH THINGS, which consumes hearts, which you must keep collecting so you can keep using your special weapons.